Out after scandal: Huma Abedin was seen going to work meetings the day after she made a joint press conference with her husband Anthony Weiner

Huma Abedin has sparked further controversy with the revelation that she was employed by private companies at the same time as working for the State Department.

For the first time this week Abedin is being questioned over something unrelated to her decision to stand by her husband Anthony Weiner during his latest sexting scandal.

Abedin has spent almost 20 years working for Hillary Clinton, first while her husband Bill was President and then most recently when she was running the State Department.

After Abedin gave birth to her son Jordan, she returned to Clinton's side in the State Department in June 2012 but her title changed from deputy chief of staff to 'special government employee'.

The New York Times reported that little changed about Abedin's actual role in affair of state, but she also began consulting for private firms.

Her expertise came for a price, as Fox News is reporting that Teneo paid her $355,000, which is well over double her $135,000 salary from the State Department.

She and her husband reported earning $496,000 that year, with Weiner's contributions coming from the consulting business he quietly opened before making his bid for a new political life.

Now one Senator is calling for Abedin to explain what inside knowledge, if any, she brought to the public sector from her dealings in the State Department

'I am concerned that the 'special government employee' designation blurs the line between public and private sector employees, especially when employees receive full-time salaries for what appears to be part-time work,' Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa wrote in a letter to Abedin and sitting Secretary of State John Kerry.

On the side: Abedin reportedly made $355,000 from her consulting work that happened as she worked for Hillary Clinton when the former First Lady was Secretary of State

Supportive: In 2012, after her husband Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress, Abedin earned $135,000 from the State Department and $355,000 from her consulting work

In response, Abedin said that the move was approved by State Department lawyers.

She wrote back to the Republican Senator saying she 'was not asked, nor did I provide, insights about the Department, my work with the Secretary, or any government information to which I may have had access'.

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The discrepancy between her work for the government and the private sector first appeared in May as Weiner began to plot his campaign to become New York City's next mayor.

She did not disclose her work with Teneo as part of her financial report, which is a standard filing for government employees in order to make known any possible conflicts of interest.

Close connections: One Republican Senator is now calling for clarification as he fears she may have used classified information to help Teneo financially

No more: Mrs Abedin, seen here telling a coffee server to move during a conference in San Francisco, has worked for Mrs Clinton in various capacity since 1996

Though officials are generally expected to report any sources of income, Clinton's longtime spokesman Philippe Reines said she did not have to do so.

Her close work with Mrs Clinton has carried on past the State Department and Abedin was said to have gone on a call with the former Secretary an hour after she gave her joint press conference with her husband on Tuesday where she said she was aware that he continued sexting women well after he resigned from Congress.